IFC Films Acquires Knuckle-Biter ‘Human Centipede’

One of the most disturbing films in years has finally been acquired for US distribution. Tom Six’s The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (review) – a film that’s selling point is based around two women and a Japanese man who are sewn together to create a “human centipede” – was snatched up by IFC Films with plans on releasing the knuckle-biter in theaters and VOD this year. Read on for the skinny.IFC Films, one of the leading American distributors of independent and foreign films, announced today it has acquired North American rights to the acclaimed horror film THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (FIRST SEQUENCE). Written and directed by Tom Six, THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2009, receiving the top prize for Best Horror Film and Best Actor for Dieter Laser, who stars as stars as an obsessed doctor who surgically joins his unsuspecting victims together. THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE also received Best Picture at the 2009 Scream Fest LA Film Festival.

In addition to Laser, THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE stars Ashley C. Williams (interview), Ashlynn Yennie (interview), Akihiro Kitamura, and the film was produced by Tom Six and Ilona Six.

The deal for THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE was negotiated by IFC Films’ Jeff Deutchman & Arianna Bocco with Ilona Six.

Building on their success with acclaimed horror fare such as ANTICHRIST, THE LAST WINTER and DEAD SNOW, IFC Films is releasing THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE in 2010 via its IFC in Theaters platform which brings critically-acclaimed independent movies to on demand viewers at home the same day they premiere in theaters.

THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE is an unconventional – and medically accurate — biological horror film that enthusiastically explores territory that few filmmakers dare to tread. When two pretty American girls go on a road trip in Europe, they end up alone at night in Germany with a broken car in the woods. They search for help and find an isolated villa, and awake the next day to find themselves trapped in a terrifying makeshift basement hospital. Their captor is the internationally respected Siamese twin surgeon Dr. Josef Heiter with a demented vision for mankind’s future existence. Dr. Heiter wants to remove human beings’ kneecaps so they have to exist on all fours and then surgically graft them mouth-to-anus to form a centipede chain. But when his victims give him more trouble than he expects – including unwanted attention from the authorities – Dr. Heiter is forced to decide whether to abandon his latest project, or protect it from the outside world – with their and his very lives, if necessary.

Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment said, “I can’t remember when I have been as excited and had as much fun being horrified and repulsed while watching a movie. Echoing back to the early works of David Cronenberg, THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE is a landmark work in the horror genre, taking the “mad doctor” conceit and perversely twisting it into a mind-boggling roller coaster ride. Everyone at IFC is excited to introduce such a unique talent as Tom Six to American audiences and it’s a perfect film for our theatrical and VOD platforms.”

Tom Six said, “I think IFC’s distribution is the last and best link to complete the human centipede chain.”